Homework+and+Practice



__**Homework and Practice**__

Homework and practice are an instructional method that gives students a chance to independently come to an understanding of a lesson. Practice is the application of new learning which is often done repeatedly and homework is an extension of a lesson that is done outside the classroom to further one’s understanding of a subject. The two fit together perfectly. The goal of practice is to come as close to mastery as possible (NETC) and homework is assigned to reach that goal.

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====**Below are key research findings taken from an article titled "Homework and Practice" from the website [|Northwest Educational Technology Consortium]: **==== media type="youtube" key="LUQ8PhZ6kzM" height="408" width="728" align="center"
 * Grade level is important when teachers assign homework. Impact of homework on achievement increases as students move through the grades (Cooper, 1989, a, b). At the high school level, for every 30 additional minutes of homework completed daily, a student's GPA can increase up to half a point (Keith, 1992). Elementary students should be assigned homework to establish good learning and study habits (Cooper, 1989; Cooper, Lindsay, Nye, & Greathouse, 1998; Gorges & Elliot, 1999).
 * Teachers should assign appropriate homework at instructional levels that match students' skills and provide positive consequences for homework completion (Rademacher, Deshler, Schumacher, & Lenz, 1998; Rosenberg, 1989).
 * A survey of teachers of students with learning disabilities found that 80 percent of teachers regularly assigned homework, but few matched the tasks to students' skills and provided feedback or positive consequences for homework performance (Salend & Schliff, 1989).
 * Students should receive feedback on their homework. Student achievement can vary based on the kind of feedback provided by the teacher (Walberg, 1999). Grading homework is helpful, but homework in which a teacher has embedded instructive comments has the greatest effect on learning.
 * Homework assignments provide the time and experience students need to develop study habits that support learning. They experience the results of their effort as well as the ability to cope with mistakes and difficulty (Bempechat, 2004).
 * Mastery requires focused practice over days or weeks. After only four practice sessions students reach a halfway point to mastery. It takes more than 24 more practice sessions before students reach 80 percent mastery. And this practice must occur over a span of days or weeks, and cannot be rushed (Anderson, 1995; Newell & Rosenbloom, 1981).
 * Teachers in the United States tend to compress many skills into practice sessions and instructional units. Students learn more when allowed to practice fewer skills or concepts, but at a deeper level (Healy, 1990).
 * Complex processes should be broken down into smaller bits, or skills, which should be taught with time allotted for student practice and adaptation (Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001).
 * Parent involvement in homework can hinder student learning (Balli, 1998; Balli, Demo, & Wedman, 1997, 1998; Perkins & Milgram, 1996). Appropriate parental involvement facilitates homework completion.

However, there is no clear answer.
 * How much homework is the right amount of homework? **
 * = **Level ** ||= ** Grade Level x 10 = Approx. Minutes Per Night ** ||
 * = <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> Elementary School ||= <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">10 - 60 ||
 * = <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Middle School ||= <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">60 - 90 ||
 * = <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">High School ||= <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">90 - 120 ||

**<span style="color: #ff00ff; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;"> According to the [|Northwest Educational Technology Consortium] there are four types of homework and it is important to know when and why to have students practice: ** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #5f00ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Memorization of basic rules, algorithms, or laws so the skill becomes rote.
 * 1) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #5f00ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Increase in skill speed, used for improving students' abilities to apply these skills in more complex problem solving.
 * 2) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #5f00ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Deepening understanding of a concept—providing students time to read further, elaborating on a new idea and expanding their understanding.
 * 3) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #5f00ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Preparation for the following day's learning, such as an advance organizer or cue to increase readiness for new information.

Photo credit to Romsirni on [|Flickr]